Locked Comparison Sets Guide
Tired of constantly adjusting peer groups for different reports? Concerned about inconsistent comparisons across your credit union’s analytics?
Locked Comparison Sets help you streamline analysis by ensuring every report opens with the peer group you need, saving time and maintaining consistency.
Quick Navigation:
Peer Suite’s Locked Comparison Sets is available only to users with Premium or Plus level Peer Suite subscriptions. Think your team could benefit from this tool? Schedule a conversation with your account manager.
How To Lock A Comparison Set
Key Terminology
- Comparison Set: This refers to the specific institutions or peer groups being compared.
Need a refresher on how comparison sets work? Explore the basics in this guide.
Default Comparison Set: Your unlocked, real-time comparison set. Updates automatically across Peer Suite. ( Marked by the gray unlocked icon)
- Locked Comparison Set: A saved comparison set tied to a specific display, folder, or dashboard. Remains fixed until updated manually. (Marked by a gold lock icon)
Peer Pointer!
To lock the comparison set for an entire folder it will need to be open in tile view. To do that drag the folder on to your canvas.
*Dashboards will automatically open in tile view.
Steps to Lock a Comparison Set
- Click the lock icon to the left of your comparison set.
- Once locked, the icon turns gold.
- Your selected peers are now tied to the display, folder, or dashboard currently on your canvas.
While locked, you can:
- Add, remove, or reorder institutions
- Changes are saved automatically and apply to that locked view
Note: If a display uses a different comparison set than the folder or dashboard it's in, a message will appear at the top of the display indicating which set applies to the rest of the folder or dashboard.
Peer Pointer!
Locked sets can only be edited at the level they were created. If the lock was applied at the folder or dashboard level, edit from there.
Making changes at the display level will create a new display-specific comparison set lock.
Using Locked Comparison Sets
Not every metric or display calls for the same peer comparison. Locked Comparison Sets let you formalize that logic so it’s built directly into your displays, saving time and reinforcing consistency across your analysis in Peer Suite.
The best peer group to use often depends on your internal strategy, but here are a few use cases to help you think through where locking makes sense:
If your credit union uses a specific peer group for Return of the Member analysis, lock that set to the related displays.
Participating in the Non-Interest Income Data Study? Lock Peer’s built-in peer group to those displays for consistency.
You’re likely already adjusting peer groups depending on the analysis. Locked Comparison Sets simply make that process smarter and faster. Here are more examples of how you can tie peer groups to displays, folders, or dashboards based on specific topics.
| Topic You’re Analyzing | Peer Group Example | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| ROA (Return on Assets) | Credit unions with similar asset size and portfolio complexity | Larger credit unions operate with different financial structures, influencing ROA and making similarly sized peers more relevant. |
| Delinquency Ratio | Regional peers with similar loan mix | Local economic conditions and loan portfolio types (e.g., auto-heavy vs. mortgage-heavy) impact delinquency patterns. |
| Share Growth | Peers in competitive or similar deposit markets | Growth opportunities depend heavily on the competitive landscape and consumer behavior in a given region. |
| Net Interest Margin | Peers with similar lending strategies and loan-to-asset ratios | NIM can vary widely depending on how aggressively an institution lends, so aligning with similar lending strategies ensures more accurate comparisons. |
| Operating Expense Ratio | Peers with comparable size, staffing, and geographic footprint | Expense structures vary, especially between large institutions, small shops, and those managing multiple branches. |
| Penetration Metrics | Peers with similar SEG/FOMs | Member engagement strategies often depend on the demographic and operational characteristics of the membership base, making comparisons with similar CUs more actionable. |
Peer Pointer!
Use Peer Suite’s Notes to document why a display uses a different comparison set than the rest of your report.
Peer Notes exports to PowerPoint, making your decisions easy to share.
For example:
"This display uses a custom peer group focused on similar loan portfolios, allowing for more meaningful comparison of delinquency trends. Other displays in the report use broader peers tied to our region and asset size."
How Locks Interact
When working with Locked Comparison Sets in Peer Suite, understanding how locked displays interact with one another is important for staying in control of your analysis.
Here’s a breakdown:
Basic Rule: The most recently applied lock typically takes precedence. However, if you move a display that already has a locked comparison set into a locked folder or dashboard, the display's existing lock will override the folder/dashboard lock, regardless of when it was set.
Locking Rules at a Glance
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Editing a Locked Comp Set | Edits update live. Additions to locked sets remain with the locked display/folder/dashboard. |
| Display is locked → Then folder/dashboard is locked | Folder/dashboard lock overrides the display lock. The display will now reflect the folder's locked comparison set. |
| Folder/dashboard is locked → Then display is locked | Display lock overrides the folder lock. This display will have its own unique locked comparison set, different from the rest of the folder/dashboard. |
| Unlocking a display within a locked folder/dashboard | The display reverts to the parent folder's (or dashboard's) locked comparison set if one exists. If not, it reverts to the default comparison set. |
| Unlocking a Folder/Dashboard | Displays within the folder or dashboard that had no individual locks revert to the default comparison set. Displays with their own individual comparison set locks will maintain those locks. |
| Moving a Locked Display into a Locked Folder/Dashboard | The display keeps its comparison set lock. |
Peer Pointer!
Locked sets can only be edited at the level they were created. If a set is locked at the folder level, open and edit it there, changing it from a display won’t affect the original lock.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I update my default comparison set?
- Unlocked items will update automatically.
- Locked items will stay the same until you manually change them.
How do I know if a comparison set is locked?
- Look for the gold lock icon on the left of the comparison bar.
- Unlocked sets will show a dark gray unlocked icon.
If a parent folder is locked does that flow through its subfolders?
- No, folder locks do not carry over to subfolders.
Can I share a locked set?
- Locked sets are saved to your user account. Others won’t see your locked sets unless they recreate.
What happens if I create shortcuts or copy displays with locked comparison sets?
- Both copies and shortcuts will retain their locked comparison set.
What levels of Peer Suite is this feature available on?
- Locked comparison sets are available in Peer Suite Plus and Premium.
Key Takeaways
Locked Comparison Sets ensure every view in Peer Suite opens with the right peer group, tailored to your analysis, your team, and your goals.
- Save time by avoiding repetitive peer group adjustments
- Ensure consistency in board reports, operational reviews, and team specific dashboards
- Build more intentional analysis by locking metrics to meaningful peer comparisons
Whether you're delivering board presentations or analyzing operational data, Locked Comparison Sets ensure your insights are grounded in the right comparisons, so you can focus on decisions, not configuration.